Golf tees up £1.85m boost for community groups and projects in St Andrews

It follows the announcement of a new eight-year partnership agreement between St Andrews Links Trust, the organisation that runs eight golf courses in the home of golf, and the St Andrews Community Trust.

Under the agreement, which starts this month, a guaranteed sum of £235,000 donated by St Andrews Links Trust to the Community Trust annually for the next five years. A further £225,000 will be donated in the subsequent three years.

The previous agreement, which had been in place since 2010, guaranteed a minimum annual funding amount of £50,000 with more than £1.5m provided to the Community Trust over a 15-year period.

The new arrangement represents a strengthened commitment to supporting local causes as part of the Links Trust’s charitable objectives.

“The evolution of our donation agreement with the St Andrews Community Trust underlines our commitment to use the home of golf as a vehicle for good within our local community,” said Neil Coulson, chief executive of St Andrews Links Trust.

“The funding provided over the past 15 years has been used to support fantastic causes within the St Andrews area and I’m pleased we are able to continue and enhance this commitment for the next eight years. The values and objectives of St Andrews Community Trust closely mirror our own and I look forward to seeing many more beneficiaries of these donations in the years to come.”

Previous groups to have benefited from the funding include Friends of Craigtoun Country Park, Byre Youth Theatre, City of St Andrews Pipe Band, St Andrews Folk & Traditional Music, Families First, Options in Life, St Andrews Community Hospital and St Andrews Tennis Club.

"We're proud of the Community Trust's history of supporting St Andrews and this new agreement with the Links Trust enables us to build on that strong foundation,” said David Murray, chair of the St Andrews Community Trust.

“We've developed a deep understanding of how local charities and community groups operate, the challenges they face, and what our community needs. With all our trustee directors living in St Andrews, we combine that deep local knowledge with our collective experience to best serve the community here.”